My sweet, sweet Ed loves the water. "Watch me, mommy!" This child has never been afraid to try anything. To this day, she is game for new adventures!
The first few years of Ed & Katya's young lives were spent in Southern California. We knew that water safety was a given for our kids to learn. After Hero flunked his first class at the Y, I thought maybe we would be wearing floaties until the end of high school! Then, we met the Divine Miss Veronica, Master Swimmer and Teacher of Water Safety to Little Ones!
Miss Veronica held classes in her backyard pool, which was a safer and more intimate place to work with the kids. Classes were two weeks long, with a final exam on the last day. During the two weeks, moms worked one on one with their kids as they learned how to float. Floating until they could get to the side of the pool, or floating until another person could navigate them to the side were the lessons learned. On the last day of class, we were told not to dress the kids, but keep them in their street clothes. As I watched my little Katya walking near the pool, the teacher brushed by her and gave her a little push. Into the pool she plopped and immediately came up and floated on her back! Then Miss Veronica jumped in and was never further than five feet from Kat. In order to pass the class, Katya had to float for 10 minutes with no help. She cried and called my name (as my heart slowly made its way to my throat), but dagnabit!! The wee one floated for the full ten minutes!
Then, it was Edwina's turn. She had been playing dolls in the house while Katya was being tested. Ed walk out to the side of the pool and was pushed in by one of the other parents. She assumed the floating position, smiling, and promptly took a ten minute nap. I don't have a picture of her in the dress she wore to the test, which by the way was pulled up over her face, but here's a shot of practice with Miss Veronica.
Watching the girls take their tests was a very heartwrenching experience for me. But I must say, that to this day, I have been completely comfortable sitting on the side of the pool reading trashy magazines while my darlings splash and scream in the water! Below is a picture of all four while swimming on vacation. I can't believe they agreed to pose!
Oop, oop, dittum dattum wattum - choo!
3 comments:
How great that you have those pictures and what good memories. My youngest learned to be able to fall in and surface when she was about a year old, except that she floated about 2 inches below the water with her cheeks all puffed out holding her breath.
I didn't learn to swim until much later, I wish my mum had got me into it sooner... but she is petrified of water!!
Because of a near-drowning (my own) at the age of 8 or so, I have never learned to love the water, though I did have lessons after that. As you can imagine, I had my own two in lessons early on :) Love the pics!
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